In my continuing coverage of the Con leadership race, I haven't written much about Maxime Bernier's candidacy, for obvious reasons.
I didn't think the Bobo from the Beauce, as we call him in Quebec, had a snowflake's chance in hell of winning.
Unless he recruited his former girlfriend's biker friends, rode through the convention hall, and scared the delegates into voting for him. Or else.
But believe it or not that may be his strategy, because Bernier has just kicked up the Fear Factor a notch.
By posting that photoshopped image of himself, and inviting Canadians to call him Mad Max.
Is Canada ready to be governed by a road warrior? Maxime Bernier seems to think so. On Tuesday, the Conservative leadership hopeful and unofficial standard-bearer for Canadian libertarianism posted an image on his Instagram account showing his face photoshopped onto the body of Mel Gibson in the 1980s film series Mad Max.
Delivering this deranged diatribe.
CALL ME MAD MAX--- You know, some people like to call me Mad Max like in the movie. They may believe it’s an insult. But let me tell you something: It’s true. I am mad! I’m mad about government waste! I’m mad about government borrowing money on the backs of future generations, to benefit big corporations! I’M MAD THAT THE LIBERALS ARE RUNNING OUR COUNTRY’S FINANCES, AND OUR NATION’S FUTURE, INTO THE GROUND!!
And calling on the Cons to become as mad as he is.
So yes, you can call me Mad Max. I don’t mind! I’m asking you to get mad like me and take your future into your hands.
Only to reveal, as Press Progress points out, the dystopian future that libertarian extremist would have us live in.
In general, libertarians argue that government should be scaled back to its absolute minimum (or completely done away with, depending on who you ask) with the market left to its own devices. So unless you happen to be rich - or a member of a well-armed motorcycle gang - forget about medicare, social services, or clean air.
But then they don't call him Bobo for nothing eh?
And he has put out disturbing messages before. Like the one he tweeted for the Pride Parade in Toronto...
Which although it was only a few weeks after the Orlando massacre, included a coiled snake, which is a favourite symbol of the National Rifle Association.
And no doubt left many gay Canadians wondering whether it was a message of support, or a hidden threat.
And longing for the good old days...
When Maxime and his former biker chick girlfriend were a symbol of wild love.
Ooh la la.
And thanks to those secret documents he left at her place, a symbol of the gross incompetence of the Con regime.
And of course I can't forget the day when Bobo and his depraved leader Stephen Harper went off to see the Wizard of Oz...
Only to have the Wizard refuse Harper a heart, and Bernier a brain.
But seriously, let's take a look at the Con leadership race. Where Kellie Leitch is trying to whip up hatred against refugees and immigrants.
And is now being endorsed by Ezra Levant's Rebel Media...
Which should tell you how low she has fallen.
While Brad Trost tries to whip up hatred against gay Canadians...
The religious fanatic Andrew Scheer promises or threatens to put God back in government...
And not to be outdone, Tony Clement continues his insane campaign to kill the CBC.
And all I can say is that if I was Rona Ambrose I'd be really worried.
For her party is no longer a Canadian party, it's a crazed gang of right-wing extremists...
And of course for progressives the news couldn't be better.
The Cons are lost in the political wilderness.
And heading for oblivion...
22 comments:
What a frightening bunch!!
50% of Canadian journalists are working for the CBC. How is that fair? The CBC's mandate doesn't include internet it's supposed to be for radio and television. It's not fair to other media companies not to mention I'm sick of the communist brainwashing corp and their liberal agenda.
Sell the CBC it's becoming a monopoly. Oh and by the way, CBC gets over a billion dollars and has been around forever. The Rebel hasn't been around for long and gets NO government money yet already has way more subscribers on Youtube. Did you hear that Simon? Ezra Levant't little old Rebel has more subs on Youtube than our taxpayer funded national broadcaster.
Who will the ageing yahoos choose from out of this dog's breakfast of stupidity?
That's all very true, Simon. The Cons have been reduced to a squabbling rump mired in opposition for years to come.
So let's talk about the governing party, since they're the ones driving the bus. After a year in power as a majority government facing an opposition in disarray, all I see is a few cosmetic tweaks to the most ugly features of the Harper regime, but it's otherwise business as usual.
We've seen none of the promised revisions to Bill C-51, marijuana possession's still illegal, the BC LNG project got the green light despite its massive carbon impact, Harper's laughable carbon reduction target is still "the gold standard," and although Trudeau's threatened to bring in a carbon tax, that too is a joke. Even if implemented it won't get us halfway to Harper's target.
Meanwhile, the government botched the assisted dying bill, is looking at increasing the number of temporary foreign workers to undercut Canadian workers, and is preparing to ratify the TPP. As Tom Walkom pointed out in the Star the other day, "Harperism — albeit without Harper — remains."
Where's your righteous outrage about that?
Simon your last 'toon' above of the rogue road rangers and their hapless Empress Rona is too true and too funny!
It is now more funny than scary as a large majority of Canadians, through past experience have been inoculated to this scare mongering lowering of the bar and are taking in the devolving 'leadership' circus with mild bemusement.
Bill
Hi anon...I'm sorry I disagree with everything you say. The Trudeau government is doing a fantastic job, It's the best government I've ever known, and probably the best government in Canadian history. In less than a year, Justin Trudeau has destroyed much of the Harper legacy. He has washed away the stench of racism,,misogyny, and homophobia, and restored our good name in the eyes of the world. Bill C-51 is being revised, the legalization of marijuana is proceeding carefully as it should, And his carbon tax is not a joke, it's a giant step in the right direction in a country where nothing has been done for a decade, and one that is notoriously difficult to govern. Tom Walkom is an old doddering Harperite who is upset because the Liberals are cutting newspaper ads. The Star has gone from 470 staffers to 170 and old Tom knows his days are numbered. The government has not botched the assisted dying bill, which is proceeding just fine, with about two hundred Canadians already having used it to end their lives. And with the exception of some disgusting old Trudeau haters like the creepy pervert the Mound of Sound, most Canadians are really happy with the Liberal government. So let me be clear I will never attack Trudeau or the NDP or the Greens like I attack the Cons. In case you haven't noticed the world is locked in a giant battle between the right and the left. And I will always support our side, and will never give comfort to the enemy. For while the Cons are heading for oblivion, they remain a clear and present danger thanks to the Con media and the handful of disaffected "progressives" like you. But then maybe I'm being too harsh, maybe it's just a generational thing. Trudeau is the candidate of the millennial generation, who will be the largest voting bloc in the next election, as they already are in the U.S. So Trudeau will be in power for at least eight more years, and your day is over. May I suggest that you stop fighting the inevitable, or failing that apply for assisted suicide....
Hi anon....yes, they are getting more frightening with every passing day. As I said in my post, The Cons are now a party of right-wing extremists and anti-Canadian values. Too bad for them, and all the better for us...
Hi anon....Please don't even try to compare the CBC to that ghastly little YouTube rag the Rebel. The CBC may not be as good as it could be, but its news is the best in Canada, and since the Liberals have already indicated they would like it to be more like the BBC, it can only get better. While the Rebel is just a creepy little hate mongering site frequented by dirty old men and racists. It has no news, and no reporters, just a bunch of losers masquerading as journalists. And of course ruling over his teeny wiener empire is the perverted nerd Ezra Levant, blowing bigotry and bullshit out of every flaring orifice. It's a joke if ever there was one. If the print media is in trouble it's because it has failed to adapt to changing circumstances. That's the first law of humanity, adapt or die. And when Levant and his bigots run out of bullshit, or too many of his followers die of old age, the low life Rebel will go down too...
Hi thwap...right now Leitch has the best campaign organization with the most money. But Andrew Scheer is almost certainly going to become the favourite. Although he is a religious fanatic, he has a pleasant front, speaks French well, and having been the Speaker also helps his candidacy. If I was a betting man, I'd declare him the "winner" already. The only thing that could change that is the arrival of an outside "star" candidate. But there is no sign of that and the first debates are scheduled to begin in November...
Hi Bill, thanks I'm glad you liked my graphic of the Con road warriors. Maxime Bernier isn't a bad guy, but he is incredibly stupid, and I couldn't resist an opening like that one. And I agree with you, the decent people in this country know the Cons too well, and they will not be easily fooled.again. To have a chance of winning the Cons needed to move to the centre, instead they are moving even further to the right. I didn't think that was possible, but needless to say I'm not complaining... ;)
So, I wonder what they (Ms. Leitch) would have us believe are "Canadian Values". British ones? Here's an interesting take on those ... https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2016/oct/05/akala-the-propaganda-of-british-values-is-a-distortion-of-history-video
Way to go Simon. Somebody has to call out those "progressives" who spend more time attacking us than they do attacking the Con scum. You should lose your temper more often. ;)
Bingo. The Mound of Misogyny writes another Trudeau hating post. He really is obsessed with Justin. I remember the post he wrote about Gord Downie and it was disgusting. He needs to clean up his act.
Wake up, Simon! The Libs have never been a "progressive" party. They're the handmaids of corporate Canada's eastern wing. I thought you knew that, which is why you voted NDP, like I did.
Just like Tony Blair and Barry Obama, Trudeau is a handsome smooth-talker selling the same old failed neoliberal agenda. A progressive is someone like Saunders, Corbyn and Sturgeon. It's a pity that in Canada all we seem to have is Mulcair and his fetish for Thatcher.
OMG, Max did what? Doesn't the boy realize he is now an old man. His best days are behind him, if he ever had any. He is no Mel Gibson. At least Mel Gibson was good looking. Poor old Max never was.
hi anon 8:56...no, it's never a good idea to lose your temper. I used to be that way when I was a teenager and was dropping my gloves, and getting into a fight every three hours. So I probably should have been more polite as I usually am. But I'm just so sick of seeing so-called progressives fighting each other instead of the right-wing enemy. Especially since in the U.S. the same idiots are threatening to hand the presidency to Donald Trump. It's not just stupidity, it's madness....
hi anon 9:39...thanks for the tip, or the warning. But I avoid that site as much as I can, because it reeks of death and decay. I believe that hope is the best weapon we have to change the world, and that's a place where hope goes to die....
hi anon 12:13....I don't need to wake up, thank you very much, my eyes are wide open. And yes, I strongly support, Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Saunders, and the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon. But I also know that you have to play with the cards you are dealt, and in this country Justin Trudeau is my kind of leader. Politics is the art of the possible. And the revolution will come when the new generation is strong enough to make one. In the meantime I will not give comfort to the right-wing enemy that seeks to destroy us. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever....
hi UU4077...well as you know Leitch is modelling herself after Donald Trump and the Brexiteers. Who as you point out don't know what they are talking about, and have now finally admitted it was really about immigration i.e. racism. And under the leadership of the new Thatcher are leading Britain into an economic and social nightmare...
Hi e.a.f....well it doesn't help that I have always despised Mel Gibson, but seeing Maxie trying to imitate him is just about more than I can bear. But then as I pointed out in my post, he's only revealed the dystopian world the Cons would have us live in, shot himself and them in the foot, so some idiots are useful....
I have never heard the CBC is reporting false news. I don't notice much spin on it, although those in charge do favor the Conservative ideology of weakening it, so it can be sold to private broadcasters. The uses and need for the CBC are varied, it provides programming for the far north, where some of it's now defunded programs were considered the best in the World, it still has journalists that report on news rather than simply parrot press reports, and it provides a Canadian slant where we are flooded by US content.
As far as CBC on the internet, a free press must grow and change with the technology available. There is no legitinate reason to think the CBC is not allowed to use all resources it can, and if this means that Levant is not able to compete on his own ability, then he should realise that he is not providing news and content that Canadians want to hear. From what I have seen,Ezra relies on sites for his news and commentary that do not promote balance, and they are from factual, using one site to create a web of links that has no basis in reality. ~GS
I am amazed that no candidate has emerged that is willing to put Canada ahead of personal ideology. The old Progressive Conservatives would be ashamed of how low the Conservative brand has sunk. ~GS
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